Transportinfo.org.uk - today's transport news in the uk, hand picked for you each morning

Friday, 29 May 2009

BBC News

• Mayor criticised over snow chaosThe Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has been blamed by a committee of MPs for a "lack of leadership" during February's snow chaos in the capital.
• Tube union wants Mayor talksA union wants to talk to London Mayor Boris Johnson to help resolve issues to avoid a 48-hour Tube strike.
• Local companies back car-free dayMotorists in Guernsey are being urged to give up their vehicles one day a month to help the environment and improving people's health.
• Free bus bid to cut car commutingThousands of commuters in South Yorkshire are being offered free bus travel to lure them out of their cars.
• Call to end congestion on bridgeA park-and-ride scheme and improved bus and rail services have been suggested by MSPs as ways of reducing congestion on a Highlands road bridge.
• Ten years of the Midlands MetroRunning along a 20km stretch of former railway line between Birmingham and Wolverhampton the Midlands Metro provides a useful public transport link for its passengers.
• Welsh road signs put up in citySigns put up at a set of roadworks in Cambridgeshire warning drivers of a new speed limit were in Welsh.
• 35,000 new-for-scrap cars boughtMore than 35,000 new cars have been ordered through the UK's scrappage scheme, government figures show.
• New vehicle scam costs £3m a yearPeople selling cars in the UK are losing £3m a year from a scam promising to match them with a buyer, authorities say.

Financial Times

• Report sees need for new London rail linesExtra lines may need to be built on the busiest routes into the UK capital as passenger and freight demand are seen to double in the next 30 years
• Fiat names top executives of new ChryslerThe Italian carmaker plans to name Sergio Marchionne as chief executive in a deal that would create an alliance with the struggling Detroit carmaker

The Guardian

• Europe eyes transport for next big emissions cuturope's next big move to confront climate change should be to tackle rapidly growing emissions from transport, with more road tolls and greener cars, trains and trucks, a top EU environment official said.
• Tube strike: promises, promisesThe RMT has announced strike action on London Underground. Whatever happened to Boris's election promise to negotiate a no-strike agreement?

The Herald

• Electric cars scheme may face delaysThe government's £250m scheme to persuade people to switch to electric cars was thrown into confusion yesterday after a motoring organisation claimed there could be delays of up to six years in making funds available while vehicle technology catches up.
• Stagecoach and OFT hostilities revived over buy of bus war foeStagecoach collided with the Office of Fair Trading again yesterday when its acquisition of Preston Bus – a deal the OFT noted had followed “so-called bus wars” between the two operators - was referred for a Competition Commission investigation.
• Rail chiefs ’misled’ public over cutbacks in AyrshireTransport Scotland has been accused of using unfounded and misleading claims to justify a decision to reduce the frequency of new train services to two villages in East Ayrshire following a £28.5m track upgrade.

The Telegraph

• Car scrappage scheme leads to 35,000 new salesMore than 35,000 new cars have been ordered through the UK's scrappage scheme since it started a month ago, it was announced on Friday .

Times Online

• National Express back on the rails after an upgrade - Market ReportSuch is the impact of the recession on the country’s railways, with passenger growth faltering as would-be commuters stay at home without jobs, perhaps the rail companies would be better off jacking it all in.

Reuters News

• Europe eyes transport for next big emissions cutBRUSSELS - Europe's next big move to confront climate change should be to tackle rapidly growing emissions from transport, with more road tolls and greener cars, trains and trucks, a top EU environment official said.

ATOC

• START PLANNING EARLY FOR INCREASED DEMAND SAYS RAIL INDUSTRYToday the rail industry set out its vision for what the railway should look like and be able to deliver for passengers and freight users in 20 to 30 years time.

Transport Briefing

• Rail industry sets out plans for future networkRadical changes to Britain's rail network will be required to cope with the predicted increase in demand for travel, according to a new planning document published by the rail industry this week.

Birmingham Post

• Amey secures £4.5m contract with Network RailSupport services company Amey – which is one of two firms bidding for Birmingham’s giant highways contract – has landed a contract with Network Rail worth up to £4.5m.

Derby Telegraph

• Facelift of Derby station platforms nears completionAN £18m refurbishment of Derby railway station's rundown platforms is on target for completion by September this year. Work has now entered its final stage, with seven of the nine platforms given a metallic makeover intended to make them more light, airy and spacious.

Journal Live

• New car proves to be a bright spark for councilA FLEET of the world’s most up-to-date electric cars could be brought in by North East councils.

The York Press

• £100k milestone for Goathland rail bridge appeal BRITAIN™S biggest heritage railway has reached a fundraising milestone in a drive to renew a 140-year-old bridge.

Wales Online

• M&S pays up for transport scheme years after pledgeMARKS & Spencer has handed over money to improve public transport at Culverhouse Cross – more than a decade after the retailer first agreed to.

Yorkshire Evening Post

• Rail link backed by transport expertsBuilding a high-speed line between London and Yorkshire would "offer the best return for investment", a powerful consortium of transport officials have concluded.
• Get Britain moving again on public transportit is significant that the most enthusiasm for the Government's new scrappage initiative, which offers motorists £2,000 cash-back on their old car, is coming from elderly and retired motorists. They are more likely to have savings to contribute towards a new car. With the interest rate offering rubbish returns, who can blame them for cashing in?

Sunderland Echo

• MP slams new charge to reserve a seat on trainsWearside MP Sharon Hodgson has criticised the move to charge passengers £5 for a seat on a return rail journey.

New Scientist

• Alcohol makes autos more climate-friendlyA slug of the hard stuff can make gasoline engines as fuel efficient as a petrol-electric hybrid, says Ford

Washington Post

• Chrysler heads back to bankruptcy court Friday NEW YORK -- It will take one more day for a judge to determine whether it's in the best interests of Chrysler and its stakeholders to sell most of the company to Italy's Fiat Group SpA.
• Crash diet: GM getting in shape for Chapter 11 DETROIT -- The speed at which General Motors Corp. exits bankruptcy protection will depend a lot on the shape the company is in when it enters. GM has three more days to tidy up.

Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport

• Britons 'support high-speed rail plans'Nearly two-thirds of people in the UK believe that high-speed rail connections could completely replace short-haul domestic flights in the future, a new report has claimed.Research for the Institution of Civil Engineers (Ice) indicated that there is widespread public support for faster trains, with 71 per cent of those polled by ComRes predicting that they would boost economic growth and 73 per cent that they would reduce congestion on roads.Of the more than 1,000 people quizzed, 63 per cent of respondents believed that there would be no need for flights within the UK if the high-speed rail ne...

Transport for London

• Mayor challenges London to get cyclingCall to secondary schools and workplaces to take part in the London Cycle Challenge.
• Victoria Coach Station first to gain new Government standardVictoria Coach Station has become the first organisation in the transport sector to achieve the Government's Customer Service Excellence (CSE) standard.
• RMT leadership threatens strike over wildly unrealistic pay claims and avoids reality over duplication of jobsCommenting on RMT leadership's proposed strike action announced today, London Underground (LU) Chief Operating Officer, Howard Collins, said:

Aviation Industry

• Passengers' Rights legislationThe European Parliament last month voted by a clear majority to accept proposed legislation in relation to improved minimum compensation requirements for bus and coach passengers. With a majority of 557 for, 30 against and 23 abstentions, the motion was unanimously carried.
• Pay for leg-room on QantasQantas Airways Ltd, Australia's biggest carrier, joined Singapore Airlines in charging for an exit row seat with extra leg room as it forecasts a record second-half loss.

Green Miscellany

• Grow your own bicycleBicycles built from bamboo are nothing new, but despite the fact they offer a sustainable and practical alternative to steel this method of construction is rarely used for anything other than expensive designer bikes.
• Car maker develops pedometerSwedish car maker Volvo has issued a group of its employees with personal CO2 pedometers to help assess and reduce the environmental impact of their daily commute.

Other News Sources

• New bus route could rival tramBUS entrepreneurs the Dunn family are back in Nottingham to challenge the tram. The family, which sold Dunn-Line three years ago for £9.8m, is launching a service between Bulwell and Nottingham in direct competition with the tram.
• Croydon trams are London's greenest form of transportTravelling on Croydon trams is the greenest form of transport in the capital, London mayor Boris Johnson has been told.
• Transport chiefs deny commuters face 48-mile diversion if new bridge had to closeTRANSPORT Scotland has denied fears that motorists will face a 48-mile diversion via the Kincardine Bridge if the new bridge over the Forth has to close for any reason.
• Plans to spruce up grotty gatewayAN ambitious vision has been unveiled to create a new railway station and transform a ’grot spot’ that stands at one of the main gateways into St Helens.
• Give me shelterA TRANSPORT campaigner claims vandals in Burnham and High-bridge are making commuters’ lives a misery by wrecking bus and train shelters.
• FTA members rate UK truckstops as poorThe Freight Transport Association's (FTA) members have, in the main, rated UK truckstop facilities as very poor in its latest survey.
• Industry outraged as fiscal stimulus cash goes unspentAt least £300M set aside to fasttrack crucial transport improvements and boost the economy is languishing and remains unspent, NCE can reveal.
• M25 work kicks off as financial close is reachedWork to upgrade and maintain the M25 began while the ink was drying on contract documents to close the £6.2bn road widening design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) PFI last week.Speaking to NCE after financial close for the deal on Wednesday last week, winning consortium Connect Plus chief executive Tim Jones said: œWe started work last night. We have been on [clearing] the verges and removing white lines and chevrons.Jones added that more significant work wo
• EU ministers to meet over troubled carmaker OpelThe European Commission has called a meeting of European trade and economy ministers for Friday (29 May) to discuss the future of carmaker Opel and its plants in Europe, a spokesman said.
• £2m funding for climate change initiatives on offer Businesses in the north east of England have been offered the chance to bid for a share of £2m.
• Don't let recession sideline the environment - EA chief The Environment Agency's chief executive has warned businesses not to use the recession as an excuse to take their eye off the ball when it comes to their environmental responsibilities.
• Electric car plans 'to backfire'Government plans to persuade people to switch to electric cars are set to backfire due to lack of production, according to the RAC Foundation.

News from Europe

• Barcelona-to-France high-speed AVE train will be running by 2012 A HIGH-SPEED train connection between Barcelona and French border will become a reality by 2012, says minister of public works José Blanco
• Path bidding hots upFRANCE: While private-sector entrepreneurs planning a foray into Europe’s international rail passenger business remain understandably coy about their plans once the liberalisation of international services becomes a reality next year, it is clear that activity is taking place behind the scenes.
• Graz S-Bahn GTW orderAUSTRIA: Steiermärkischen Landesbahnen placed an €21m order for six GTW multiple-units with Stadler on May 28. They are to be delivered from October 2010 for use on the Graz S-Bahn network, which was launched at the end of 2007 using leased vehicles which STLB is due to return at the end of 2010.